3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
6 Educational
6.1 Promote a collaborative innovative network (COIN) platform for farmers on how to take
advantage of smart farming and precision agriculture technologies. A COIN enables
leveraging both local experience and expertise on a range of topics relevant to addressing
specific farmers’ questions, as well as accessing insights, applied research results,
accumulated evidence and experience from professionals in the Greater Region and
beyond. A COIN also provides multiple advantages over periodic classroom sessions or
presentation events, including the capacity for posting queries 24/7 to a broader audience
of experts, to retrieve the accumulated knowledge already shared and stored on the COIN,
to access multiple learning formats (text, spreadsheets, calculators, research reports, slide
presentations, audio and video clips, MOOCs, open source courses, network contacts, etc).
6.2 Adopt an educational learning experience by providing each student with a square meter
of land to nurture her/his own biological textbook during the course of the school
semesters until graduating. Gardening is at once a personal and peer collaborative
experience. The process of growing ensembles of seeds into thriving gardens involves
natural feedback dynamics. Students exploring and exchanging perceptions about
variations in results instill a feel for the experimental processes of science: the
consequences of watering too much or too little; differences in soil texture, pH levels, and
nutrient content; the effects of shaded vs. sunny exposures; the applications of STEM
knowledge (science, technology, engineering and mathematics); the process of composting
wastes into soil amendment; as well providing students with an awareness of the range of
scientific disciplines and research fields such as botany, entomology, beekeeping,
pollination, climatology, microbiology, mycology, and ecology; substantially enriching their
understanding and know-how of composting, soil mulching, plant grafting, seed saving and
other hands-on activities. By the time they leave school, youth will have become betterinformed
citizens regarding food, land and agriculture issues, while having deepened their
competences and broadened their horizons on a range of future opportunities, from
engaging in recreational hobbies to vocational pursuit as master horticulturalists, research
scientists, or professional agriculturalists.
6.3 Expand educational opportunities and access to resources on smart agriculture applied
research for students pursuing vocational tracts and related professions. Include field
research initiatives with farmers and involvement in farm operations, in addition to class
instruction and online courses.
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